Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-01-20
A COUNTRY SCHOOL


stA4Ss+sI N<sA2 1o eASW A-1S IA40~ sd N "a
!east s century.
Alone. upon the summit Of q high
hill. this unpretending temple Of learn
inr has b.en the structure used for gen
eratioRs In climbing the hill OF science.
me s.larch Of improvement has been
carefullT kept back from It's surround
;ngs, The only sdornment eeing beds
II rock and piles Of stone -fhieh are
ONLY changed as the careful farmer or
l.b6r-sayiag postmaster finds il 5 con
vsnieus plaee % add 70 its ALREADY
oFarburdened stock.
The salne old plank on which our
srandfatners 50 indastrIonsly used
their iack- knives is to-day the writing
dask around the wall, save whsre a
nIsee has besn whitfield too much 10
ba Of further service new piece Aas
been inserted. giving the youth OF the
rresen; DAY enlarged facilities Tor dec
1,ration. In front are the same old
wooden benches over which the chill
dren Of today swing in and out after
the fashion Of rheir grandmothcrs in
DAYS o! long ago. The presiding
s,.siTius OF the place is even in keeping
with thu surroundings; MASTER IN win,
ter 10 manage turbulent bows. and
while his farm demands his attention
/ during the summer months. some
seh0olniarn Ills up the interys. and
! ads oyertfursiened parents In tie care
Of children who are In the way at home.
As one old master is obliged 70 lay
aside the duties OF his office on account
Of the inhrInities Of age or 10 60 70 his
hist resting place, 3 new one is found
10 nearly ike the old thst the change
II hardly perccpti6ie. Even the very
feruie and hickory cub are carried and
used as effectually as by the masters OF
century ago.
The children Of to-day spell out the
words in the Testament at the opening
III ho0l with the sans moderation a.
did their ancestors in 20, and the same
old biue-eoyered spelling book is yet in
! the hands OF the pupils, keeping alive
te momentous questions whether the
man who made spelling books and the
one who talked politics were one and
/ the some. and II so why should ne live
/ 90 much longer than other folks, and
/ questioning the propriety of changing
! The old catechism so as TO read Moan
Webster, and not Methuselah, was the
oldest man. But at length the march
! Of improvement reaches our rugged
! bills and inYades or territory. 4
| Young LADY from the city, a graduate
| from 3 prominent high school, appear
! at the door Of our district committee as
q candidate for the school. He stsres-
| a departure from our custom, bal
viii consult the people of the district
aud let her know. Unanimously they
! say; Well try the city lady sh-
eutevs upon the duties of her oitlce,
/ Leaves all the attractions OF one Of our
| prominent Connecticut cities to enter
| upon her life work IS teacher. Ayoung
lady full of life. energy and deter
| minstiou to make her first effort sue
/ cess.
The old school-house is made to look
more cheerful by the addition Of few
| yards of white cotton cloth at tie vim
| dows, and the blackboard instead Of
being used for drawing caricatures Of
the teacher, is kept filled with well-ex.
| ecuted school-work.
| The very scho6l-room seems 10 be-
filed with different air. No instFu.
| ment Of torment is In view, and two
dozen pairs of prying eyes have tired In
vain TO Discover It's hiding place. What
aschool with no whip The city is tille1
| with horrible means of torture and
! some dreadful thing must be here iu-
| visible. One sharp pair of eyes dis
| covers near the blackboard two oblung
articles Il have found out is the
first confidential talk with compsnr
ION "she'll box US 'sida the hsa1
with those things by the black board, 81
and at the close Of the session pupils
scatter homeward. to make known
70 parents the wonderful discovery.
Catch her using them things on my
/ children, says one parent, and his
( children return 10 school to tell what
pa says.
Another session aud the queer.laok.
ing things are taken in hand, Breath
less silence reigus In the schoolsruom,
Who is she victimP The teacher quietly
uses them for cleaning the black board,
and the great mystery is still unsalved,
Still wonders do not cease A spelling
class Is called and pupil spells Cow,
ke-ow. Teacher says pronounce the
word COW. not ke-ow.
Glass dismissed and stclose of school
teacher says; '-Chihye1. when you
meet person on the street say, How
do yon dOY' not 'Hellon"
Children look amazed and report to
parents. ';rhe tescheris Qyerstepping
her duties. meddling with outside mat.
ters, and besides, is casting q reflection
on the manners Of the people Mem-
bers of the board of education are con-
suited is to the limits of . teapheF'.
power. The SIX members of tbs boagI
have al presided as teachers in the
town, and it is against the rules TO crit
1eise any thing out Of school-hours,
I and surely it shows great lack # fa-
milisrity between teacher aud pupils
not to say ''Hellor Now. here is our
chance. We have always succeeded
in keeping city teachers out of the
place. We have teachers enough Of
+ our own and need the money ourselves.
and we have quietly reyoked city teach.
Z er'S certificates % tEo occasions and
they have beau obliged to leave; so d
5 We can only manage this one success
, fully, probably there will be no at.